Woman, Allegedly Fired for Tongue Stud, Sues Ex-Boss

A Woodland Hills woman sued her former employer Tuesday, alleging she was wrongly fired after she refused to remove a new tongue stud.

Mary Haudenshield, 29, said she did not believe the small stud she placed in her tongue Sept. 3 was visible to others or in violation of the dress code at the apartment complex where she worked as a leasing consultant. In her 6 1/2 years with Oakwood Worldwide, Haudenshield said she had been promoted twice and received good performance reviews before she was fired Sept. 14.

“It never crossed my mind as to how it was going to affect my work because it’s something that’s on the inside of me that you can’t see,” she said. “I read through the policies of the company and I still don’t see anything that says I’m in the wrong.”

Haudenshield said she has not found another job and faces eviction if she does not begin paying rent on her apartment, which was an employment benefit.

“Even after she pierced her tongue, she leased four apartments. So apparently either no one noticed, because they didn’t comment on it to her, or they didn’t care,” said her attorney, Gloria Allred. “In fact, she points out that her employer who terminated her never even did see the stud in her tongue.”

Oakwood spokesman Robert Philips said the company had not been served notice of the suit and declined further comment.

The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.